Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s men’s volleyball team yesterday stormed into the semi-finals while beach volleyball duo Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan reached the quarter-finals in an eventful day for Al Annabi athletes at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.
Qatar volleyball players defeated Pakistan 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18) to book a blockbuster meeting against Iran and assured themselves of a medal in China.
Despite a strong opposition from the South Asian volleyball heavyweights, Al Annabi spikers took a victorious start at the quarter-final clash, securing the 1-0 lead with 26-24 win. Qatar won the next set 25-19 in 24 minutes to extend the lead before Pakistan fought back with a 25-23 win in the third. But Al Annabi players responded swiftly and secured the 3-1 victory with a stronger attack, securing the fourth set at 25-18 in 25 minutes to advance.
Qatar's Abdalla Khalifa (right) in action against South Korea's Lee Kwang-hyun
For Qatar, Raimi Wadidie and Youssef Oughlaf scored 16 points each, making the biggest contribution for their team.
Meanwhile, Qatar Olympic Committee President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani was present at the Zhejiang Gongshang University Sports Centre, where Asian men’s handball champions Qatar clinched their first win in Hangzhou.
Qatar defeated Hong Kong 36-18 in Group B which also includes South Korea.
Al Annabi made their intentions clear since the kick off, and led from start to finish yesterday.
They led 20-11 at the end of first period, before adding 16 more points in the second. Among notable performers were seasoned campaigner Rafael Capote scored six goals with 100% accuracy, and Ahmad Madadi who scored eight from his nine attempts. Qatar will take on South Korea in their second match on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, favourites Younouesse and Ahmed booked their place in the quarter-finals when they swept away their Omani counterparts at the Ningbo Banbianshan Beach Volleyball Centre in straight sets (21-13, 21-11).
The victory against Haitham Khalfan Al Sheriiqi and Ahmed Al Housni yesterday means the Qatari duo, ranked third in the world, will now take on Iranians Sina Shokati Shekarsaraei and Bahman Salemiinjehboroun for a place in the semis.
However, the second Qatari pair who entered yesterday’s Round of 16, Mahmoud Essam and Abdullah Nassim lost to their Chinese opponents Jie Li and Yanwei Wang 0-2 (12-21, 15-21).
Also yesterday, two Qatari fencers were in action in the men’s individual foil, and both of them showed excellent promise before bowing out after several intense contests.
In the Round of 16, Qatar’s Khaled Hussein lost to Hong Kong’s Ka Long Cheung 8-15. He had reached the top 16 after defeating Macau’s Chong Him Wu 15-12 in the Table of 32-6. Earlier in the Pool stage, Hussein had defeated Uzbekistan’s Doniyor Sadullaev 5-3, Singapore’s Tian Wei Jonathan Au Eong 5-3, Macau’s Pak Kio Lam 5-3 and lost to Japan’s Kyosuke Matsuyama 1-5 and Chinese Taipei’s Yi-Tung Chen 2-5.
Hussein’s compatriot Abdalla Khalifa was beaten by Japan’s Takahiro Shikine 4-15 in the Table of 16-2. The Qatari fencer impressed in the Pool stage, defeating Kuwait’s Ali Abbas 5-2, Thailand’s Notethakod Wangpaisit 5-3 and Sammuel Tranquilan of the Philippines 5-1. He lost to China’s Jie Xu 2-5 and South Korea’s Kwanghyun Lee 3-5 in the Pool round.
Meanwhile, at the Hangzhou Qiyuan (Zhili) Chess Hall, Qatar’s female International Masters Husain Nezad and Aisha Al Khelaifi both lost to their respective counterparts in the opening round.
